Altitude is the most important distinction of Mendoza’s terroir. Its higher elevation vineyards, at 2,600 feet to over 5,000 feet, are ideal for growing the Malbec grape. The sunlight is intense, days are hot and dry, and nights are cool.

With only eight inches of rain per year, irrigation in Mendoza is essential. But, it’s not the kind of drip irrigation you might expect. The province relies on a system devised by the Huarpe tribe in the 16th century to catch runoff from the Andes. The entire area (agricultural, commercial and residential) is covered with a labyrinth of reservoirs, channels and trenches.

Water is rationed by opening and closing miniature floodgates. Vineyards expect their trenches or reservoir to fill on particular days of the week for a set number of hours. Then the water is diverted to the towns towns where it flows through ditches that lie between the sidewalk and street. Residents open the gates to channels going to their homes to water their plants. We watched our innkeeper open the gate to the garden at our hotel and then noticed residents doing the same during the evening as we walked around town. Vineyards and farms get first dibs on the water. Trust us, this system would not work in California where movies have been made about water wars.

The soil is another interesting feature about Mendoza terroir. Much of it looks like what you see in the photo below, thick layers of limestone and stones carried from the Andes by the Mendoza River. The soil is inhospitable and forces the roots to grow deep for water. That concentrates the juice in the grape, producing more flavorful wine.

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